Knitting machine



June 8, 1943. M. WEINBERG 2,320,989

KNITTING MACHINE l Filed Aug. 2v, 1940 's sheets-sen 1 INVENTOR MAX Wf//vf/QG :ATTORNEY June s, 1943.

M. WEIINBERG MINING-MACHINE lFiled Aug. 27,1940 Y- s sheets-"sheet s 4e 4'2 A14/Ae ,i Patented June 8, 1943 UNITI-:u STATES PATENT ori-ica f 'l Max Weinberg, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Harrison Mills, Inc., East' Newark, N. J.

Application August 27, 1940, Serial No. 354,340 V` 1 claim. d(ci. ca -12) This invention relates to knitting machines. It`

is particularly directed to a machine for making elastic knitted material.

An object of this invention .is to provide a machine of the character' described having means for knitting with a double yarn, and for producing `loops withone of the yarns, which may be later sheared to produce a velvet, and means for laying in an elastic yarn during the knittingoperation to produce an elastic knitted cloth. When the loops of this cloth are later sheared or brushed, an elastic knitted velvet results.

A further object of this invention is to provide a strong, durable and compact machine of the character described, which shall be relatively inexpensive. to manufacture, smooth and positive in operation, which will produce a-n attractive and improved cloth, and which shall yet be practical and eiiicient to a high degree in use.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the fea@ i tures of construction, combinations of elements,

knitting machine embodying the invention, with the -sinker cam and presser bars removed;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken on line 2 2 of Fig. 1

Fig. V3 is a cross-sectionalview taken on line 3 3 ci Fig. l; Y

Fig. is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the rubber yarn cast ofi v Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating laying in of elasticv thread before knitting; f Fig. is a croS-sectional view taken on line S-S ci Fig. i;

Fig. l' is a cross-sectional view taken' on line i-,i of Figi;

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken on line S-BOFS. l;

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view showing the eiastic thread knitted to the inelastic yarn;

Fig. 10 is a side elevational view of one of the sinkers;

Fig. 1i is a diagrammatic view of the elastic knitted cloth; I

Fig. 12 is a View similar to Fig. 1l, but showing i l l Vnate and are slidably mounted for vertical movethe loops severed to produce en elastic knitted velvet; and

Fig. 13 is aV diagrammatic view showing the sinkers pushing the elastic thread forward to allow short butt needles to come up on opposite side of thread.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, iii designates a portion of a circular rotary knitting machine embodying the invention. The same comprises an inner cylindrical/.rotary needle H,l

and an outer fixed cylindrical cam ring l2, spaced from the needle ring. Fi ed to the outer cam ring are a pair of lower cams It and lfand a. pair of upper cams it and/ll cooperating therewith to raise and lower the needles in any desired phase, as will appear hereinafter.

'Ihe combined angular extent ofv the lower l cams It and l5 constitute one repeatable section of the knitting machine which may be repeated any desired numberf of times around the machine. The knittingi needles are of twovkinds. numbered i3 and 119,- respectively. They are similar, except that the needles `i8 have long butts IBG, whereas, theneedles I9 have short butts lea.

The needles i8 have beards 88h and needles l@ have beards d 9b. The long and short butt needles i8 and le alterring as they are moved up and down by the cams,

as will appear hereinafter in greater detail.

Camiel is formed on the innersurface thereof with a substantially horizontal shoulder 22, so that the upper portion 23 of the camis thinner than the lower portion.4 Said upper portion 23 has an upwardly sloping edge 2t at its forward e'nd, a V'sullastahtially horizontal intermediai e edge 25 and a downwardly sloping edge 26. Cam i5 is oi full thickness and has upper edges Zta, 25a and 26a, similar to the edges 2t, 25 and it of cam it. Between the edges 2t and 26a of the cams B53 and i5, are lowered or cut-iaway portions 2Q.

lne cam i@ which is above the cam it, has a lower edge 3d substantially parallel to, and spaced abovethe edges 2t, 25 and 2t of cam it. Cam Si has a .lower edge 3l substantially parallel to and spaced above the cam edges 2da, 25a and 2te ci' or overlap the edges 2t, '25 and 2S of cam it.' The short butts ita .of the short butt needles it,

however, do not overlap the edges 2t, 25 and 2t 2 of the cam I4, and hence contact the shoulder 22 of said cam and are not raised as the needles pass cams I4 and I5. All of the needles. however, are raised and lowered by the cams I5 and I1, since cam I5 is thicker and engages both the short as well as the long butts o1' the needles I? and I8, respectively. Y

Fixed to the upper edge of the outer lixed cylinder or ring I2, is a flat annular ring 4|), extending outwardly therefrom. Rotatably mounted on ring 40 is a ring 4I, on which there are slidably mounted a plurality of similar, radial,.equal1y spaced sinkers '42, shown in detail in Fig. l0 of the drawings. The sinkers are slidable radially on ring 4I between the needles I8 and I3, in

the manner and for the purpose hereinafter appearing. Y

The sinkers are dat and have a straight bottom edge 43 contacting the top of ring 4I. Each of the sinkers is provided with an upwardly extending projection M for engagement with a sinker V cam 45, to slidably 'move the sinkers radially in dles I8 and the retracted sinkers at a point where the sinkers are retracted by the sinker cams substantially above the cam edge 25'of the cam I4.

' Any suitable spring pressed yarn tension device the position shown in Fig. 3, and the sinkers are Fixed to the ring 40 in any suitable manner, y

is a sinker cam 45 formed with cam grooves 48 receiving the projections 44 for radially moving the sinkers inwardly and downwardly ina predetermined sequence or phase relative to the up and down movement of the knitting needles i8 and IS by the cams 4,151, i5 and I1, as the needles and sinkers rotate about the vertical axis of the machine. rl`he cam 45 has an angular extent equal to the angular extent of combined cams I4 and I5, and is repeated Vsimilarly around ,the machine.

The cam groove 48' isshaped to retract. the sinkers as the long butt needles are moved upwardly by cam edge 24, and to push the sinkers between the cam needles as thelong butt needles pass edge 25a of cam I6.

Within the space 68 between the II and the cam ring, and above cams I6 and I1, and in back of each needle IB and i9, is a vertical presser bar 6I, disposed between each pair of adjacent sinkers 42. presser bars are normally held away from the beards I8b and ISb of the needles i8 and i9 byA an annular coil tension spring S3, engaging within notches 64 in the lower ends of said presser bars, in the well known manner.

Fixed to the sinker cam plate 45 is a presser 'camvSG adapted to press the upper ends of the presser bars inwardly to close the beards I8b and lISI, when the needles are pulled downwardly, as

shown in Fig. 8 of the drawing, as said needles' pass the edge 28a of the cam I5, to permit the needles to cast off stitches already made.

The knitting needles as well as the sinkers and l the presser bars are disposed entirely around the cylinder of the machine and rotate about the axis of said machine. The xed needle cams, thefsinker cams and presser cams are repeated any suitable number of times around the machine, to'repeat the'knitting operation as many times as yarn is fed to the machine.

In Fig. 1 there is shown one section of the needle ring I 1I! may be employed to tension the yarn A, as it is fed to the machine.

Y Any suitable means is provided to feed a pair of inelastic yarns B and C to the machine at the point where the needles are raised by the edge 25a of cam I5. Yarns A, B and C are fed to the machine at repeated intervals the same number of times as the needle cams, sinker cams and presser cams arerepeated.

In Fig. 1, the arrow indicates the direction of movement oi.' the needles and sinkers around the axis of the machine. The rubber yarn A is laid in between the long butt needles and the sinkers. as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, said yarn being received in the lower groove 48 of the sinkers. As the long butt needles are lowered to moved between the needles, the elastic yarn A is received in the beards I8b of the long butt needles. andthe portions of the yarn between adjacent long butt needles are pushed by pairs of sinkers between adjacent long butt needles radially inwardly, so that when all of the needles are subsequently raised, the rubber yarn will be laid in to the knitted goods and will pass back and forth around the needles I8 and I9, as shown in Fig.v 5 of the drawings.

' As the needles IS move down from the position shown in Fig. 3 to the position shown in Fig. 4, the rubber yarn A is pulled olf the projection ot the sinkers. As all of thevneedles are raised from the `position shown in Fig. 4 to the position shown in Fig. 6, the loop yarn B is fed to the l upper' grooves 41 of thesinkers andthe knit into the beards I8b and I9b, and said beards are The upper ends of the yarn C is fed to the lower grooves 48 of the sinkers, whereas, the rubber yarn A remains below the projection 48 of the sinkers.

As the machine continues to move, all of the needles are pulled down as the sinkers are again moved radially inwardly to push the yarns B and.C against the shanks of the needles as shown in Fig. '1 of the drawings. As the needles are then lowered by the cam I1, the yarns B and C move then closed by the presser bars under the action of the presser cam 68, as shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings, so that the needles will cast olf the rubber yarn, while knitting the. double yarns B and C.

The loop yarn B which is pushed more forwardly by the sinker cam produces loops which may later be cut by a shearing machine or in any other suitable manner to produce a velvet. The elastic yarn A is thus laid into the knitted yarns B and C to produce a knitted elastic cloth. and when the loops 88 of the cloth are sheared,

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in* which the several objects of. this inv vention are achieved, and which is well .adapted to'meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be madeof the above invention, and `as various 'changes might be made in the embodinient above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying' drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

A knitting machine comprising a rotating member having means to support'l a plurality of parallel, alternating long and short butt needles for sliding movement,V xed means to raise the long butt needles without raising the short butt needles, as said rotating member rotates, means for raising both the long and short butt needles, as said rotatable member rotates, a radial sinker disposed between each pair of adjacent needles. each of said sinkers being formed with a pair of notches one disposed above the other and one radially outwardly o! the other, means to move of yarns are knitted with one of the yarns producing loops which may be cut to produce velvet and such elastic yarn is laid into the knitted 

